Somehow, They Are Still Making This

Pictured: Armie Hammer and Johnny Depp as The Lone Ranger and Tonto, respectively. In answer to the obvious question: Yes, on his mother's side, apparently.

Johnny Depp in excessive, outlandish makeup and a funny hat? Whoa. Way to think outside the box, guys. I wonder if he has some kind of "offbeat" verbal-inflection?

I for one can't wait to read the Disney Studio P.R. release about how Tonto's look is A.) totally based on a real, extremely specific type of Native American attire - much more authentic than the way Tonto and Native characters in particular have typically been depicted before! - and B.) something that Johnny Depp brought to the table and insisted on and that "the suits" were all like "Noooo!" about but, man, you just gotta go with Johnny cuz that dude is just on a totally different visionary plane, man.

Yeah, okay, whatever. Johnny Depp has a bird for a hat and that's reeeeaaaalllllyyyy weird and everyone has already made that Nicholas Cage joke. What I wanna know is what's up with The Ranger's new look.

Not necessarily that they seem to have ditched the traditional red/white/blue color scheme (red kerchief, white hat, blue shirt typically, though it has differed), but what's the deal with the Marshall's badge? Traditionally, The Lone Ranger is a vigilante - a onetime Texas Ranger (or sometimes the civilian brother of a Ranger) left for dead who adopts an anonymous masked-persona to gain advantage over his would-be murderers. Is he an "official' lawman in this version? And, if so, why the mask?